THE NEW NORMAL John Stamos Interview NBC

John will be guest starring on the show beginning tonight on NBC. John’s a real trooper and didn’t let the flu stop him from doing the press call. He just had fun with it. How could anyone not love Uncle Jesse? John has starred in some of the best shows like Full House, Tales from the Crypt, and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. That Law & Order: SVU role was a really strange “daddy” role. You’ll have to go back and check it out. Don’t miss John Stamos on The New Normal, tonight on NBC.

Press Conference Call Interview Highlights:

John Stamos: I’m sick. I have this crazy, you know, flu that everybody has out here. So in the middle of the night I took some Nyquil. This is bad. You know, and then you wake up and then you take Dayquil and so now if I start talking about, you know, Jake in Progress or some other show, someone just drop. Well I started to feel better and then I worked all night last night with Ellen Barkin. We were outside and she was grabbing me and we were eating Korean food and then, you know, we were kissing and I hope she doesn’t get sick because I thought I was fine, but. And I woke up this morning feeling so sick. And the, you know…

Q: What was it like filming with the legendary Ellen Barkin.

John Stamos: Oh so good. I mean I think it was our first show where we had to kiss. But, you know, you know, we did the read through of the first episode and I felt like, you know, we’re kind of cat and mousing each other and sort of, you know, circling each other. And I just – after the (retakes) I said to Ryan, I said, “What if I just grab in back of her hair and just make out, you know.” And Ryan – and the whole room was silent because – and then everybody looked at Ryan and then he said, “Oh my God. That’s a great idea.” He looked at me. And then so I think it was the first night or so we did it, and I know Ryan likes kind of surprises and he’s very, you know, especially when he’s directing. He’s very spontaneous and he loves to kind of throw out jokes and ideas and stuff. So it’s sort of, you know, I kind of know what he likes. I’ve known him for so many years. And it’s a great relationship with him. So I thought I’m going to stick my tongue down Ellen’s throat because I want to see – elicit some sort of natural weird, you know, surprise or fear or whatever she was going to show because it would have worked for the character. And the woman didn’t flinch. It wasn’t like, you know, there was nothing happening. I did it – it was just like okay. Looks like a normal kiss. Cut. And then we go to lunch. I was hoping for something with Ellen. I mean I think like what’s the farthest thing you can touch in the back of a throat; the uvula or whatever it was. I know I hit it and she didn’t even move.

Q: So would that be most memorable part of filming?

John Stamos: Well, no. I mean and that was the early stuff. And then, you know, Ellen and I just had this – I mean this – the whole thing was sort of presented to me as – well first of all it was presented like, “Hey John, you’re doing this.” You know, from Ryan. I said, “Oh, okay. Great. What am I doing? Ryan is sort of the modern day Sinatra. Remember when Sinatra used to call Sammy Davis? I’m not comparing myself to them or Dean Martin or these guys. Oh by the way, you’re doing a show on this night. And they go okay. What time do we get there, you know. It’s sort of what Ryan is. And he’s always been so good to me. And he also, you know, he’s also protected me in the stuff that I’ve done. Like he’ll say, “I’m going go over and write you this. I’m going to write you that.” And he always comes through for me. Always has. I’ve known him for, you know, right after Full House we talked about doing a show together, so. But when Ellen and I started working together it was just this great chemistry and I think it was sort of set up where I would come on and do one, see if they like me and see if I like, you know, work there. And then all of a sudden we did this great first episode and they were like, you know, let’s do – how about tomorrow. And I’m like, “I’m free. Let’s do it.” And working with here is – has been about the – you know, it’s the most interesting relationship. I always sort of wanted to play a – she’s not that much older than me but I wanted to play that sort of relationship where – what do you call it, spring, May, April, June, you know. She’s a tiny bit older than me but we don’t talk about it. We don’t do it. We just – we don’t – we just play it. And there’s something fantastic when I look in her eyes, you know. We just get great stuff.

Q: So what was it like kissing Ellen Barkin?

John Stamos: Well, here’s the truth. When you kiss – when you kiss on camera – this is the absolutely truth and I’m a gentleman, so you can make it look as salacious as you want without being, you know, salacious I guess is what I’m trying to say. Like you can fake, you know, a French kiss thing, right. And most of the time you do and then you sort of just leave it up to the actress however she feels because I was never – it’s almost like – it’s just courtesy as a gentleman actor. I guess you open the door and, you know, if they want to walk into it, they walk and if they don’t. So but with Ellen, you know, she was ready to play, you know and we did and it was a really great – like I said, you know, it wasn’t written into the script so I think we – I just went for it. Just grabbed the back of her hair and I sort of – in the episode I give her a makeover. And I think you guys have been hip to what the show’s about where I come on and they don’t know if I’m gay or straight. And the truth is, you know, nowadays I mean who the hell knows. I mean I – maybe it was more defined 10, 15, 20 years ago if you were a florist or whatever, hair stylist, you know, stereotypical crap. But in this case you just sort of can’t tell and they sort of – they – because she – I think she’s attractive and they have this game where they try to find out if I’m gay or not. And I’m hip to it so I – at the end I said, you know, if this is – this game of yours, you know, if it’s not entertaining or whatever and I leave. And on the way out of the office I give her this great kiss, you know. I said why don’t you just do that if you want to find out if I’m gay or not; is that, you know, is that okay and then just kind of walk away from her. And she’s laughing. And she’s planning this great – we’ve done three episodes now, two, three and she plays two. She plays this great scene that I’ve never seen her play and I asked her the other day. I said, have you ever played this. And she’s like this kind of coquettish teenager when she’s around Bryce, you know. And it’s a bit sweet to see Ellen do that. But man what an actress. I just – we lock in, we look at each other’s eyes and then we just go and it’s been one of the kind of most – it’s the easiest and kind of a – seriously the fastest chemistry I’ve had with someone in a long time on television.

Q: Matt Bomer and you have both been on <em>Glee</em> and <em>The New Normal</em>. Have you been trying to talk to Ryan to also get on <em>American Horror Story</em> to now to be on all three shows?

John Stamos: I haven’t but I’m going to call him right after this. Sorry. I’m sorry I’m sick and I feel like – it’s so weird when you take, you know, Nyquil, which I never take and then going oh my God, I got to be awake so you take the Dayquil and so I’m feeling like I’m, you know, like I’ve done something wrong. You know, like call my doctor. And then oddly enough like I saw the Selena Gomez interview where they said she was drunk or something this morning and I was like that’s not drunk. You want to see drunk, look at me in Australia a couple years ago. That’s what a drunk person looks like. You know.

Q: Was there anything about you role that wasn’t originally scripted for you that you felt added to the character?

John Stamos: Well like I said, you know, there were – there was the kiss that we put in and stuff but the character I, you know, I was thinking about it because I – because we had to postpone – just because of my schedule we had to postpone the opening two gigantic scenes that are airing this week and that’s next week on Tuesday until yesterday. So it was interesting. So I already played through the character and sort of his result and where he ends up being – I’m not gay. You know, this is a modern world and just because, you know, a guy wears a bracelet or is into, you know, hair processing and culture and fashion doesn’t make him gay, you know. And just as I say that my gay hair stylist walks by and goes, “Here, here” you know. But I sort of played through all that. And then I had to go back to the beginning yesterday and play the guy from the start and it – I’ve never played that guy. I’ve never played a guy who was, you know, what you didn’t – you couldn’t tell, you know what – where he was at because again nowadays I mean it’s so unfair and I think that – I think that’s the point of the episode, which is Gaydar, which is, you know, that doesn’t work anymore. But, you know, just because – certainly me, I’ve been, not that there’s anything wrong with it and I – sometimes I go oh, great. They think I’m gay. That’s cool. You know, but, you know, the rules don’t apply anymore, you know. And I think that’s what we were trying to get at. So I had to come on and play this guy that you didn’t know what he was. And I’ve never done that. It was a very difficult line to walk because as it turns out he’s not gay. So – but I had to sort of give the impression that I was but I didn’t want to play into any of the stereotypes of, you know, of whatever stereotypical things there are that people think of gay men and women. So it was a day – and I asked the director too. I said, “I need some time to find this guy today because this is very important, you know. Because that’s the point of the episode and maybe some of the overall themes of the show that you can’t just point to people and go you’re this, you’re that, you’re, you know, you know. And I wanted to get it right. And thankfully they gave me the right amount of time. And I really gave it a lot of thought because, you know, I care about it and I don’t want to be flip. I don’t want to be simple about it because it’s not, you know.

Q: Well there’s such great chemistry between all of the cast members. Was it instant for you when you began working with them?

John Stamos: Yeah. Well they – yes. They’re really good. You know, I have to be honest. I didn’t watch the show a lot before. But I knew it was good and I knew the acting was good and I didn’t realize how good it was until I got down there and the writing. And it’s a very well run show. And it’s sort of exciting because I mean I know it’s not like Glee that was, you know, getting ready to blast over the whole world and stuff. But there’s – I still feel a little bit of what I felt when I jumped onto Glee, which was, you know, they have something here. They have something important and they have something important to say, you know. And Ryan once again put the right people together to get the right message out.

Q: So obviously you know you’re surrounded by so many funny people on set. Who cracks you up the most and made you laugh while you were there?

John Stamos: Nene is very funny. I wasn’t familiar with that show, the housewife show and then last night – I think it was the night before there was another very pretty girl on the show and our show runner Ali who I’ve fallen in love with. I don’t care. I’m going to say it loud and proud right now. I am in love with Ali. We email each other like all night. All night last night. So she was – I was walking by (unintelligible) and she had Nene and this other really pretty girl — I can’t remember her name; I think it’s on Twitter — from that show. And she said, “Come in here and get a picture.” So we were taking pictures and stuff. But Nene – we share a trailer and she’s just – I’ve seen naturally funny people in the past unlike Bob Saget, but this girl is funny.

Q: Other than the kiss, what was your favorite scene or the one that you’re most excited to share? Like is there anything with Nene that you have?

John Stamos: We had a little bit in the first episode. Like I said, they decide – you know, she’s sort of her (Cirino). So she’s telling Ellen’s character Jane how to get me. And they’re – she sort of talks her through on the phone and in the first couple of episodes. And she’s – and, you know, at one point I – she says, “Just ask him out” you know, and so comes up and she asks me out and she has the phone in her pocket. And I said, “Oh yeah, I’d like to go out with you again.” And you can hear Nene’s voice going, “Yeah girl. Get him.” You know, and in her pocket and so she’s kind of a (Cirino) character. But I have worked with her – I think it was my first day and we were all working together. We were – my first day was everybody all – the whole cast at a table, we were eating. And they’re really, really – all of them are really, really funny. And it was interesting both, you know, I made a joke about Full House the other day and I don’t know if you read it but – and I’ll say it again, which was sort of true but not. I mean I, you know, I am shocked and proud of what we can do on TV nowadays. I mean, you know, it’s come a long way. And whatever that 25 years ago, you know, of seeing Full House. I mean we, you know, I was sort of kind of relating. They asked me they said, “What’s the difference between this show and, you know, sitcoms and the show you did 25 yeas ago?” And I said, “Well, three men, you know in San Francisco raising kids, no difference.” You know. But the truth is, you know, and I thought that was funny. I loved it and I – but, you know, it is. I mean it’s dramatically different. And that’s why I wanted to do this show because you could – you can go on and say things and do things that you couldn’t. And – but I remember sort of emailing with Ryan the first week saying, you know, let me be – let me be the straight advocate. Let me be it because that’s how I am in real life. Like I – let me just talk the way that I talk. And let me say that I love people for who they are, not what they are. I mean I don’t say that exactly but, you know, let me be that guy that’s not sort of pushing the agenda down anyone’s throat. Not that they do. But let me just be easy with it, you know. And I think it’s a well-written character in the sense that I can be that guy. And I think especially with Jane’s character who is – still has, you know, phobias and that Archie Bunker thing that she has. I think it’s sort of kind of coming – I think it got slowed down a little bit or quelled and then when I came on, she starts it up again and I’m now the one to kind of tell her that that’s not cool, you know. But the way that they’re writing me is just the way that I would say to somebody, you know. And it’s not hey, now don’t you make fun of homosexuals, you know, with my finger in their face. It’s just a guy who, you know, who treats everybody the say way if they’re a good person. It doesn’t matter what they are. And if they’re a bad person, you know, I would treat them that way, you know. The way they…

Q: Well, this is a reader question. They asked me to ask you why is it that John Stamos never ages? What is he doing and explain it to everyone please.

John Stamos: I live in a box like a – with no – with oxygen, you know, like Michael – when he passed away and they had that auction of all his stuff…you didn’t see it on there but he had this oxygen tank that he lived in like a oxygen box – like a coffin thing. And he would sleep in this thing and they would pump oxygen in. And that’s what I sleep in. I don’t know. You know, truthfully I’m very flattered when people say that. And you have to be careful to not like play into it because then you become, you know, this – you get this Peter Pan syndrome going on. Right. I’m 30. I can do anything. You know, I’m not. So I think good genes and truthfully I do take care of myself in a sense. You know what I do probably the most that – I mean if there’s any secret, I sleep a lot. I get a lot of sleep and, you know, rejuvenation. So I try to go to bed early. I always felt that the hours before midnight, 1 o’clock were the most important sleeping hours for me. So I go to bed, you know, 9:00 or 10:00 and I get up at 5:00 or 5:30, 6:00.

Q: Do you work out a lot? Is that also part of it?

John Stamos: I’ve done, you know, just about everything. I mean I’m not a super weightlifting guy. I’ve been doing pilates lately, which I think is just a big ploy to get me in those straps, you know, with my legs up because I’m the only guy in the class. And I’ve got my legs in place. This is my – I felt like I’m giving birth or they’re going to do a pap smear or something. I mean I’m – they literally I put my ankles in these things and I said, “Is this – you’re making this exercise up, aren’t you?” They said, “No, no. It’s the platypus, it’s the platypus, no. Seriously. Lay down, put your legs in the air. Ignore those 30 women looking. Right. This is what we do here.” You know. But I know they’re trying to make me look silly. I just know it. The platypus. Whoever heard of that?

Q: Would you ever consider doing your show full time again? Is that something you want to do?

John Stamos: Of course. Television is become, you know, it’s a whole new landscape there, you know. And that’s why I did this show because, you know, to be honest with you and – I hope I don’t get any calls. But I had some of my people say well maybe this isn’t the show for you because – not because of the subject matter because, you know, the ratings aren’t so good and would hold you off for, you know, a bigger (unintelligible) guest or an (arc) on the show. Let’s do. I said, “No, no, no. I get this show. I like this show. And I have not played this character before.” So I think what I’m getting at is that, you know, when you find a good character and you got to – you got to go for it, you know. Ryan and I have had a great relationship for years. And, you know, when he asks me to do stuff, I do it because I’m proud of being on his shows. I’m proud of him. I knew him, you know, before all these big shows happened. You know, he came to me originally right after Full House with a show about three hookers that would fix marriages like Charlie’s Angels but they were hookers. And it was a little too much for me at the time. But looking back, I’m like wow. I should have done that. And then I know I’m probably one of five guys that say this but, you know, he offered me Nip Tuck and I didn’t to that. And so after that when I was, you know what, when Ryan calls me, I’m going to – I’m going to do what he wants me to do because he’s ahead of – he’s way ahead of me like he knows what people want. And he knows how to push the envelope. He knows how to make people think. He knows how to be – make people think about themselves. And I should be working with this guy because, you know, if they should, you know, God forbid if he ever passed away. And I’m not – I’m saying this in all sincerity. I mean this guy runs, you know, three shows, two pilots. He’s got three movies over here and he’s – when you’re in a room with him it’s just astonishing. They should donate his brain to science at some point. I mean I’m not make a joke about this. It’s like I don’t – my mouth is open when I see him, you know. Like I’m just amazed at what this man can do, you know. We should – people should study this guy because he is a genius.

John Stamos: By the way, did I kiss – did I kiss Ryan’s ass enough on that last question everyone? Okay.

Q: Thanks so much for doing like the gayish show on TV and supporting gay people. I think it could maybe open up some doors. I know you mentioned a lot of things like hesitation about it from other people and things like that. But it’s really important I think to support.

John Stamos: Wait a minute. I did Full House. I mean how much (gayer) – oh, you’re talking about The New Normal. I agree. You know, when I was – my – when I was 18 I was – or 17, 18 my first publicist was gay. His name was (Greg Olipolis). Rest in peace. I loved that man so much and he taught me so much. And he was gay. And I came from a very conservation Orange County where, you know, I don’t think I ever – I mean I knew I did but I didn’t understand it. You know, certainly growing up. It’s funny because I saw – was at Disney World a couple weeks ago and I saw a kid that I grew up with and I guess he turned out to be gay but he had sort of a feminine thing about him and kids would, you know, beat him up and make fun of him. And I was – back then even – he told me this at Disney World the other day. He said, “Boy you protected me and you said I’m just like everybody else.” And I don’t know where I got that but I know it was solidified later when I was with this – my publicist, (Greg Olipolis), and he said – he said something very simple to me that I’ll never forget. He said, “You see that girl over there.” I said, “Yes.” “You see that feeling you get when you think about kissing her and you get excited about talking to her or asking her on a date?” I said, “Yeah.” He goes, “That’s what I feel when I see a guy.” I said, “Oh.” He said, “You know that – you know when you see a guy and you just want to be buddies and, you know, you don’t really want to go on a date with them or touch them or whatever but you want to be, you know.” I say, “Yeah.” He goes, “That’s what I feel when I see a girl.” I said, “Oh. Okay. I get it.” And that was that.

Q: Have you been mistaken for a gay before? Before you were famous and all that? I mean people stereotype and do things like that.

John Stamos: Well I’m a – I’m a very, you know, I’m sure Ryan would have called another guy and got him in a few seconds. I hope I have the first call for this. But I just seemed right for this because, you know, it’s exactly that. It’s like there are no stereotypes anymore. I mean and I’m the perfect example. I mean I grew up with musical theater. I grew up playing with puppets. I thought…You know, and I liked magic but I liked all the arts and I liked musical – you know, like I said, I love makeup. Like I loved doing makeup. Halloween was my favorite time of the year. I would – and I was quite good. I was a good makeup artist. And I – and a lot of the musicals that I tried out for – I’m such a shitty singer. I mean later in life I guess I got a little better but not much. But because I wanted to be in musicals so bad, I studied singing and it’s not my favorite thing to do. But I can sort of get through a song if it’s in a musical theater setting, you know. I can, you know, play the character. But I mean yes, I mean I think – I even think my father at some point, you know, thought well, okay, he’s gay, you know. What – who cares? So yes, I have been I guess mistaken.

Videos

Check out some of the highlights from last night’s episode of Saturday Night Live with host Don Cheadle and musical guest Gary Clark Jr. This is my favorite episode so far this season. Don Cheadle did … [Watch Now...]

Editor’s Picks

I spoke with RJ Mitte about Who’s Driving Doug, Breaking Bad, Switched at Birth, people’s misconceptions about disabilities, his anti-bullying campaign, working with Shriners Hospitals for Children and United Cerebral Palsy, his fashion work, and so much more. RJ played Walter White, Jr. on one of the best shows in television history, Breaking Bad. RJ […]